11. The Order of Events.--It would be difficult if not impossible to relate even the chief events in the life of Messiah in the order in which they occurred, since no little confusion exists in respect to the succession of events in the narratives of the New Testament. (See note 5, end of section.) Nor is it necessary to our purpose to dwell in detail or in sequence { 47} upon those matters. It is sufficient for us to know that after the events we have already noted Messiah's mission was more boldly declared. He proclaimed himself to be the Son of God; the Messiah of which the scriptures had borne record;[34] he taught men that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son to redeem it, that whosoever would believe in him might have everlasting life.[35] In addition to this great doctrine we have seen that he taught repentance; he likewise taught that men must be born (baptized) of the water and of the Spirit before they could enter into the kingdom of God;[36] he made and baptized more disciples than John;[37] he also taught the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, and announced himself as possessing the keys and powers thereof.[38]
12. The Divinity of Messiah's Mission.--Jesus sustained the divinity of his mission by pointing to the conformity of the facts connected with his career with the predictions of the scriptures;[39] by the testimony which John the Baptist bore;[40] by the works which he did--his wonderful miracles wherein the power of God was made manifest;[41] and lastly, and best of all, the testimony of the Father himself which was promised unto all those who would do his (the Father's) will.[42]
1. Order of the Temptations.--The order of the temptations is given differently by St. Matthew and St. Luke. St. Matthew placing second the scene on the pinnacle of the temple, and St. Luke the vision of the kingdoms of the world. Both orders cannot be right, and possibly St. Luke may have been influenced in his arrangement by the thought that a temptation to spiritual pride and the arbitrary exercise of miraculous power was a subtler and less transparent, and therefore more powerful one than the temptation to fall down and recognize the power of evil. * * * The consideration that St. { 48} Matthew, as one of the Apostles, is more likely to have heard the narrative immediately from the lips of Christ--gives greater weight to the order which he adopts.--Canon Farrar.